


Better Late Than Never

by kisahawklin



Category: Lord of the Rings RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-10-17
Updated: 2009-10-17
Packaged: 2017-10-03 14:21:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kisahawklin/pseuds/kisahawklin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Orlando shows up roughly four years late by Viggo's count.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Better Late Than Never

Orlando shows up roughly four years late by Viggo's count. He's watched Orli's career skyrocket, falter, and plummet, all while nursing his own broken career and his more broken heart.

Meteoric rise didn't even begin to cover the boy's move from slightly dorky Orli to perfectly turned-out Orlando. He was more beautiful than ever on the outside, and there were pictures of him on every street corner to remind Viggo of what he'd lost by being noble.

He watched from afar as Orlando started to question everything. He watched the search for family, for love, for meaning, and his first attempts to take control of the rollercoaster. Viggo thought Orlando might come to him then. He has no idea what he would have done if Orlando had; Viggo wasn't in any place to be able to help himself, much less Orlando. He was just starting to pull himself back together, shake off the detritus of being lost in his own skin. Part of him is glad Orlando stayed away; part of him wishes they could have muddled through it together.

He's here now, hair partially tamed with one of his bandannas, tchotchkes and good luck charms dripping from his arms. He's subdued, in a way Viggo's never associated with Orli, and it twists Viggo's heart to see the exhaustion in Orli's rigid stance, the lines around his eyes that Viggo thought would never come. He's starting to look like a man, finally, and it doesn't completely take away Viggo's paternal leanings, but it mitigates them some. Maybe enough.

Neither of them says anything, though Viggo knows what pleading looks like in Orli's eyes. He traps Orli's wrist and pulls him into the house, reaching for the duffel bag as it rolls off Orli's slumping shoulder.

Viggo takes Orli to his room, peeling back the layers of his fashionable armor until he's in a t-shirt and boxers, one arm latched on to the other, fingers convulsively clutching himself. He looks smaller, more vulnerable. More like the kid Viggo knew in New Zealand. Viggo pulls back the duvet and rearranges Orli into the bed, tucking the blanket in around the edges like a pie crust, snugged around his knees and shoulders and ass. He smooths Orli's escaped curls around his ear as he inchworms in behind him, lending his warmth and strength and whatever else Orli might need until he falls asleep, deep, even breaths pushing him back against Viggo's chest.

**Author's Note:**

> Viggo has [burst back into my life](http://sitgesfilmfestival.com/eng/sitges_live/?dia=11), and on the eve of NaNo (he plays one of the main characters in my long-running NaNo story, Vampire Greg). That, combined with the fact that I haven't seen hide nor hair of Orlando for years, gave me a huge plot bunny. I was too exhausted to write the whole thing on the plane, so all I got was this introspective little piece. Probably inspired in no small amount by [](http://spillingvelvet.dreamwidth.org/profile)[**spillingvelvet**](http://spillingvelvet.dreamwidth.org/) and/or [abundantlyqueer](http://www.abundantlyqueer.insanejournal.com). Between that and the fact that I haven't either been active in this fandom or done any kind of research (I have no idea what Orli's doing now, _who_ Orli's doing now, or what his hair looks like), I'm just going to post this here for now.


End file.
